How ‘Game of Thrones’ Characters Should Look Based on The Books

Game of Thrones is based on A Song of Ice and Fire, a series of epic fantasy novels by George R.R. Martin. While the show is a faithful to its source material in some ways, it takes some big liberties as well, including with the appearances of the characters themselves.

Game of Thrones brought the beloved fantasy world of Westeros to life, but it did so in a way that TV producers hoped would work. Where characters in the book might have eye-patches, scars or even blue hair, the TV characters were left a little more classically attractive and given their full face to be expressive.

Game of Thrones has been praised for its all-star cast, and their performances cannot be denied. At this point, few fans seem to gripe about the changes in characters’ appearances, even the extreme ones. The characters were reinvented for the TV series, and they became their own unique version of the story that fans love so much.

Still, it can be fun to imagine how the show might have looked if the showrunners had decided to be more faithful to the descriptions set out in the books, and may creators have done just that. Many creators online have done some amazing Photoshop work to show the TV show characters rendered more like there book counterparts.

Here is a look at how Game of Thrones characters might have looked if they were more consistent with the books.

Daenerys Targaryen

Emilia Clarke was undeniably perfect casting for Queen Daenerys Targaryen. The actress was known for donning an elaborate silver-blond wig with inter-connected braids and dangling curls. However, according to the books, those should have come with a pair of colored contacts as well.

In the books, Daenerys has the bright purple eyes of the Targaryen house, which many dragon-riders in Westerosi history had. Clarke has mentioned that she actually tried to wear purple contacts when she first got cast, but they irritated her eyes too much, and ultimately the idea was dropped.

Lastly, in the books Daenerys’ hair did not survive her trip into the fire, so when her dragons were born she was completely bald. So far in the series, her hair has not had time to grow back to its luxuriant length on the show.

Brienne of Tarth

Game of Thrones did its best to give Gwendoline Christie the same brutish look as Brienne of Tarth in the books, but at the end of the day she was simply too attractive to be the same warrior-maid from the books.

In the novels, Brienne is described as outright ugly, with “broad and coarse” features. When she was first introduced, Martin wrote: “her teeth [were] prominent and crooked, her mouth too wide, her lips so plump they seemed swollen. A thousand freckles speckled her cheeks and brow, and her nose had been broken more than once.”

Things get even worse later on, when Brienne picks up some brutal battle scars. At the end of book four, A Feast for Crows, Brienne gets into an all-out duel with the sell-sword Biter, who sinks his sharpened teeth into her face. She is left with hollowed out cheeks with the flesh stripped off, and a long, deep scar across her face.

Tyrion Lannister

In a similar case, fans often complain that Peter Dinklage is too handsome to play Tyrion Lannister, and his scars are not severe enough.

In the books, Tyrion has swollen, asymmetrical features, and his body is not just small but slightly mal-formed, making it hard for him to walk at times. Most importantly, Tyrion has two different colored eyes — one green and one black, which unnerves some of his enemies.

In the Battle of the Blackwater, Tyrion takes a battle axe wound to the face. In the show, this heals into a faded line running diagonally across his face from his forehead to his chin. In the books, however, the scars were much more grevious, and made Tyrion difficult to even look at in the eyes of many.

He was left with about half of his nose cleaved off, and the rest of his face disfigured as well. Whatever charms he had before were gone, and the world was more than happy to believe he was as ugly on the inside as the outside.

Jorah Mormont

On the show it is clear that Ser Jorah Mormont is older than the queen he serves, but in the books the difference is much more pronounced. The old knight is described as bald, with coarse black hair covering his arms, shoulders and chest, but not his head. In her thoughts, Daenerys frequently remarks on his age, which she guesses to be at least 40. Making matters that much more awkward, Daenerys in the books is just 13 years old when the story begins.

In the latest main series book, A Dance with Dragons, Mormont is taken prisoner while trying to smuggle Tyrion back into Mereen. Mormont is made a slave for the fighting pits and is branded with a tattoo of a demon’s mask on one cheek. The disfigurement makes him that much more formidable, and stirs Daenerys to stop making compromises.

Euron Greyjoy

There may be no character that is more different in the books and the show — both in appearance and in action — than Euron Greyjoy. The pirate king of the Iron Islands wears an eye-patch in books, and his men refer to him as Crow’s Eye.

However, according to Theon, the patch covers a “black eye shining with malice,” and fans still do not know exactly why he wears it.

In the books Euron’s hair is said to be “black as midnight,” and even more ominous, his lips are stained blue. This is because Euron drinks shade of the evening, a rare wine used by warlocks in the books to bring on powerful visions.

Still, Euron is said to be attractive and quick to smile in the books, much like his TV counterpart. However, fans expect the magic-wielding sailor to play a bigger, more mysterious role in the end game of the series.

Ramsay Bolton

There is no taking away from Iwan Rheon’s chilling performance as Ramsay Bolton, but the plain fact is that he may have been too small and too attractive for the role.

In the books, Ramsay is a large, brutish man, with a heavy-handed fighting style to match.

“Yet for all the splendor of his garb, he remained an ugly man, big-boned and slope-shouldered, with a fleshiness to him that suggested that in later life he would run to fat,” Martin wrote of Ramsay in A Dance with Dragons. “His skin was pink and blotchy, his nose broad, his mouth small, his hair long and dark and dry.”

Like the other members of House Bolton, Ramsay also has pale, colorless eyes, compared to “chips of dirty ice.” He even has a long mane of hair, and is not above getting himself dirty in the pursuit of his bloody work.

Theon Greyjoy

Theon Greyjoy’s moment of triumphant martyrdom in the final season of Game of Thrones may have resonated with fans, but it seems unlikely that it will play out the same in the books. That’s because, believe it or not, Theon came out of his time in captivity with Ramsay worse than he did in the show.

In the books, torture and imprisonment leaves Theon emaciated and malnourished. His hair turns grey, and much of it falls out, while his flesh all but falls off of his bones.

Most importantly, Ramsay’s torture leaves Theon more crippled in the books than in the show. He has just seven fingers when he escapes the Boltons, and he is missing so many toes that he actually has trouble walking. He is also missing teeth, and of course, he was castrated as well.

When Theon’s sister sees him after his escape, she mistakes him for an old man. Whatever the final two books in the series may hold for Theon, battle is likely not it.

Daario Naharis

Finally, one of the most infamous cases of changed appearance in Game of Thrones is the sell-sword captain Daario Naharis. In both the books and the show, Daario is the captain of the Storm Crows, who brings his soldiers into Daenerys’ army and becomes one of her commanders, advisers and eventually, her lover.

In the books, however, fans are left to wonder why. Daario is described as having his hair and beard dyed-blue — a popular look in the free city of Tyrosh. His beard is also cut into three prongs, while his mustache is dyed gold and pointed out to the sides.

Daario has a large, pointed nose in the books, and his eyes are bright blue. He dresses in the most garrish, fine clothing he can find, and he carries a sword and a dagger with matching hilts carved to look like naked women. He is often described stroking those golden hilts suggestively.

It is not hard to imagine why the showrunners thought this might be a hard sell for TV, and why he might not have been a believable love interest for Daenerys. Still, many fans long to see a faithfully rendered Daario on screen, just once.